Friday, June 15, 2007

Marcar com alinhavos (Parte 1) – Thread tracing (Part 1)

Viva Amigas! Este post inicia uma série de dois ou três posts que vou dedicar à técnica de marcar com alinhavos. Nesta primeira parte vou mostrar um dos casos mais simples, que é quando não temos entretelas para colocar, nem pinças ou outras marcações complicadas no meio do molde. Vou usar uma parte da manga e neste caso o tecido é cortado duplo, ou seja a peça é dobrada em dois no sentido do comprimento e as partes são cortadas em dobro. No caso de cortar em tecido simples (e isso acontece quando os moldes não são simétricos ou quando temos que alinhar padrões como o caso de tecidos em xadrez), o passo de empastar não é necessário e as orlas são alinhavadas directamente.Hi Friends! This post starts a series of two or three posts on the subject of thread tracing. This first part will address one of the simplest cases, which is the case when there aren't darts or any other special markings (besides notches or straight lines). I'll use one of the sleeve leafs as an example and in this case there are two layers of fabric with the pattern pinned on top (the fabric was cut following a layout where the fabric was folded lengthwise). The case where there is only one layer of fabric (when dealing with asymmetrical patterns or when matching patterns like plaids) is easier because the tailor tucks phase can be skipped and the outlines are thread traced on a single step.

Aqui temos a folha posterior da manga:Here is the posterior leaf for the sleeve:

Podem ver que há duas camadas de tecido (o lado do avesso virado para fora):See that there are two layers of fabric (right sides facing each other):Uma coisa importante: nos cantos a agulha deve ser inserida na vertical para que as duas camadas sejam perfuradas exactamente no mesmo sítio:This is important: the needle should follow a path perpendicular to the fabric at the corners, this way making sure that the corner is marked evenly and accurately on both layers:Para empastar (marcar ambos os lados do tecido ao mesmo tempo), faz-se um ponto corrido largo deixando sobrar a linha no lado de cima:To make the tailor tucks (this serves the purpose of reproducing the outlines on both layers at the same time) a long running stitch is performed but the thread is left loose on the top, forming those little thread loops you see in the picture:É melhor contornar os cantos sempre enfiando a agulha de cima para baixo no canto de forma perpendicular ao tecido:When reaching a corner it's better if you insert the needle from top to down and perpendicular to the fabric:

Depois tiram-se os alfinetes e o molde:When all the lines are stitched, the pattern is unpinned:

Afastam-se as duas camadas de tecido uma da outra; os pontos soltos permitem fazer isto:The two layers are pulled apart; see the threads in between? This is what the loose stitches are for:

Depois cortam-se os fios no meio, separando as duas camadas que mantém os alinhavos cortados no sítio:The threads are cut in between, making it possible to separate the two layers, keeping the cut basting threads on each layer as a guide:

Finalmente é preciso alinhavar usando os pedaços de linha como guia e retirando-os ponto a ponto:Finally the final thread tracing is done, using the little thread bits as a guide and removing them as you go:

Adrienne: It does help with the construction process (at least for me!) but it is also a personal preference of mine. It is not always necessary to thread trace unless you are doing a very fitted garment or dealing with difficult fabrics where accuracy is most important; for example, when matching plaids I find this technique most useful too. I do it because I have the time to spare and it helps me think through the overall garment. Also keep in mind that I learned to sew using BWOF patterns that come with no SA included so this was kind of a “natural” procedure for me. Only recently I’ve discovered the US pattern Co that are drafted including SAs.

Hi Dawn! Usually I use a sharp needle, as thin as possible to accommodate the basting thread (there is no need for a Milliner because I make one stitch at a time so I don't need a longer needle). I chose the needle and the thread according to the fabric being thread traced; if I'm thread tracing fabrics which get piercing holes, like satin, I prefer using a beading needle and thin embroidery thread (or silk thread) instead of the sharp needle and the special purpose thread for hand basting you see me using on this project. If in doubt, I test first on fabric leftovers!

Sewcreate: If you call my tailor tacks thread tracing, yes. If you mean asking if I hand baste securing two layers together (both already thread traced) before I machine stitch them (thus a second line of thread tracing), no; I usually use pins to hold the fabric pieces together. I use my fingertips to “feel” where the thread traced lines are and overlap the two layers exactly at the thread lines, then I pin them together and I stitch very close to the top layer basted line, not over the basted line. I make exceptions when dealing with “difficult to keep aligned” fabrics like velvet; in that case I baste and pin the two layers together and I use an even feed foot (I remove pins before they reach the feeddogs).

If I’m thread tracing a single layer of fabric I don’t need to tailor tack and the procedure is reduced to performing long running stitches very close to the stitching lines. This subject will become clearer on my next posts because there are other issues like interfacing first and then thread tracing or thread tracing darts, for example.

This is exactly how my Mum (she's in England) taught me to mark burda patterns. (I didn't try any pattern that had their own seam allowances until my 20's.) She still brings me the right thread (that thicker cotton) for the job. Great illustration and demo of the skill. Thanks.

Laura: That is a good question and I will show pictures when I'm sewing up the blouse; I can tell you now that I try not to stitch over the threaded line but very close to it. Even being very careful sometimes the basting thread gets caught by the machine stitching and when it happens I use small scissors and tweezers to remove the basting thread without damaging the fabric. I will take pictures, I promise!

I learned to do tailor tacks the same way but used a double starnd of basting thread, I suppose it is a European way to mark the stitch lines because we in Europe use patterns without seam allowances. I used basting thread which is not as smooth as embroidery or silk thread for non lightweight fabrics. Sometimes I still do tailors tacks with silk thread in lightweight fabrics and use only a single thread like Tany.

Fantastic post Tany. I learned the tailor tacks from my grandma in Europe. Since she never used patterns I've only seen her use this technique for darts or for notches. I can see how neatly it would be to use this technique for BWOF patterns. I was never able to find the thick cotton basting thread in Canada so I've used the normal polyester thread instead. Since it requires a lot of work to trace whole pattern like this do you usually fit the pattern first and then do the tailor tacks?

Anna: Thanks! Usually I make a muslin first and test the fit; In this case I've made the pants before and I'm using the same (already fitted) pattern for the city shorts; I'm trusting I won't need major alterations for the Patrones blouse because my last size 42 Patrones projects didn't need a single alteration/adjustment! When I finish thread tracing, I baste everything together (well, not everything, I can baste together either the left or the right side for the blouse) and make small adjustments if necessary. I'm glad you're enjoying this process!